PHILLIPSTON RECONNAISSANCE REPORT UPPER QUABOAG WATERSHED AND NORTH QUABBIN REGION LANDSCAPE INVENTORY MASSACHUSETTS HERITAGE LANDSCAPE INVENTORY PROGRAM Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership PROJECT TEAM Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Richard K. Sullivan, Jr, Commissioner Joe Orfant, Director, Bureau of Planning & Resource Protection Patrice Kish, Director, Office of Cultural Resources Wendy Pearl, Director, Historic Landscape Preservation Initiative Jessica Rowcroft, Preservation Planner Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission Adam Burney, Associate Land Use Planner North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership Jay Rasku, Partnership Coordinator Project Consultants Dodson Associates, Ltd. Public Archeology Laboratory (PAL) Peter Flinker, Principal Virginia Adams Sarah la Cour, Project Manager Holly Herbster Reid Bertone-Johnson Hillary King Local Project Coordinator Kevin Flynn Local Heritage Landscape Participants David Bramhall, Community Preservation Committee (CPC), Cultural Council Daniel Flynn Rose Frizzell, Conservation Commission (Con Comm.) & CPC Richard Hamel, Historic Commission Bonnie House, Open Space Committee, CPC, Cultural Council, Historic Commission Linda Langerin, Historical Society Thelma McMahon, CPC & Historic Society Dawn Odams, Con Comm. & Open Space Committee Kim Pratt, Con Comm., Historic Commission & Open Space Committee Karen Probst, Open Space Committee Richard Valcourt, Police Chief, CPC Nathan Williams Sterling Whiting, Planning Board Spring 2008 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS • EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS Department of Conservation and Recreation Deval L. Patrick Ian A. Bowles, Secretary, Executive 251 Causeway Street, Suite 600 Governor Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs Boston MA 02114-2119 617-626-1250 617-626-1351 Fax Timothy P. Murray Richard K. Sullivan, Jr., Commissioner www.mass.gov/dcr Lt. Governor Department of Conservation & Recreation CONTENTS Introduction . 1 PART I: Heritage Landscape Inventory Local History . 3 Priority Heritage Landscapes . 5 Phillipston Town Center Mill Ruins Bates Reservoir Willis Road and Stone Bridge Schlick’s Farm Historical Society Phillipston Priority Heritage Landscape Map . .25 PART II: Planning for Heritage Landscapes Inventory and Documentation . 27 Planning and Zoning Tools and Techniques . 29 Implementation Strategies . 34 Conclusion . 35 Appendix A: Heritage Landscapes Identified by Community . 37 Appendix B: Preservation and Planning Tools . 41 Appendix C: Works Cited . 57 INTRODUCTION Heritage landscapes are special places created by human interaction with the natural environment that help define the character of a community and reflect its past. They are dynamic and evolving, reflect the history of a community and provide a sense of place. They show the natural ecology that influenced land use patterns and often have scenic qualities. This wealth of landscapes is central to each community’s character, yet heritage landscapes are vulnerable and ever changing. For this reason it is important to take the first step toward their preservation by identifying those landscapes that are particularly valued by the community – a favorite local farm, a distinctive neighborhood or mill village, a unique natural feature or an important river corridor. To this end, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and its regional partners, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) and the North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership (NQRLP), have collaborated to bring the Heritage Landscape Inventory program to fifteen communities in central Massachusetts. The goals of the program are to help communities identify a wide range of landscape resources, particularly those that are significant and unprotected, and to provide communities with strategies for preserving heritage landscapes. The communities within the Upper Quaboag Watershed and North Quabbin region of central Massachusetts share a common dispersed settlement pattern as well as an early agricultural economy and later shift into manufacturing. Developed along a series of major waterways and their tributaries, including the Millers, Quaboag and Ware Rivers, this region contains vast cultural and historic resources and uncommon natural beauty. The heritage landscapes in the participating communities reflect the agrarian and industrial past while providing recreational and educational opportunities for today. From scenic town commons and natural areas to civic buildings and burial grounds, the heritage landscapes within the region collectively tell the story of their varied and often turbulent, history. Upper Quaboag Watershed and North Quabbin Region Heritage Landscape Inventory project area Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program Phillipston Reconnaissance Report Methodology The methodology for the Heritage Landscape Inventory program was developed in a pilot project conducted in southeast Massachusetts. It is outlined in the DCR publication Reading the Land, which has provided guidance for the program since its inception. In summary, each community organized a heritage landscape identification meeting during which residents and town officials identify and prioritize the landscapes that embody the community’s character and its history. This meeting is followed by a fieldwork session including the consulting team, accompanied by interested community members. The final product for each community is an individualized Heritage Landscape Reconnaissance Report. This report outlines the community’s landscape history, discusses broader land planning issues identified by the community, describes the priority heritage landscapes and issues associated with them and concludes with preservation recommendations. Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program Phillipston Reconnaissance Report PART I: HERITAGE LANDSCAPE INVENTORY LOCAL HISTORY Containing a varied topography and drained by many small streams, the town of Phillipston is located northeast of the Quabbin Reservoir between Athol and Petersham on the west and Templeton on the east. Queen Lake, near the south end of town, has played an important role in Phillipston since prehistory, when the shores likely served as a seasonal base camp for Native Americans while they hunted and fished in the area. Phillipston was originally included within the boundaries of Templeton and Athol. The soils of the area were favorable for growing crops and grazing cattle, and it developed as a dispersed agricultural community. A town meetinghouse was built in 785, where it stands today as the Congregational Church on the common. One year later, Phillipston was incorporated as Gerry, named for Congressman Elbridge Gerry. The town petitioned to change its name to Phillipston in 84, after then Lt. Governor William Phillips whom the community admired. By the middle of the 9th century, the town consisted of a small residential village at its center, two small mill villages and dispersed farms. The Powers Mills were built on the Centennial Celebration on the Common in 1886. Photo from The Spirit of Kendall Brook and cut timber from Phillipston, from the Phillipston Historical Society’s collection surrounding forest lands. Ignatius Goulding and Samuel Damon built three textile mills on a brook northeast of Queen Lake, an area now known as Goulding Village. Phillipston Center included a store that attracted business from many surrounding towns; from southern New Hampshire to Northfield and Winchendon, Athol, Orange and Dana. The Vermont-Massachusetts Railroad was built through the north end of town in 847 but Phillipston did not have a stop or station. New development began to focus in other communities around the new transportation system and by 879 only two chair factories at Goulding Village remained in Phillipston. The town’s economy remained in agriculture, producing butter and crops for the neighboring manufacturing villages. Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program Phillipston Reconnaissance Report With the opening of the streetcar service in the 890s, Queen Lake became a vacation destination for people living in nearby cities. Vacation homes and a girl’s camp developed along the lake’s shores by the early 0th century. Many of these homes still exist and are being converted into year-round residences. Today most of Phillipston’s residents commute out of town for work. The town’s main employers include Red Apple, the King Phillip Restaurant and Cotton Mill in Goulding Village around 1800. Photo from The Spirit of Phillipston, from the Phillipston Historical Society’s collection Motel, and other, smaller businesses along Route 2A. Although its population continues to increase steadily, Phillipston remains quite rural. Approximately sixteen percent of Phillipston’s land is protected from development, and the town center still contains many 8th century structures. The community is, however, experiencing significant growth pressure and the adoption of strategies and tools for heritage landscape preservation will help to maintain the rural character while accommodating new development. Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program Phillipston Reconnaissance Report PRIORITY HERITAGE LANDSCAPES Phillipston is experiencing significant growth pressure and will need to determine how it will affect the rural character of the community and